Supreme Authority

[Vincent Deryck]

If there were those who doubted the courage of Vincent Deryck, he hoped that this would be yet more evidence that they were wrong to do so.

Here he was on Serenno, perhaps the most dangerous world to be on if you were not a member of the Sith Empire, with nothing to defend himself. He had flown here aboard a simple senatorial shuttle with a small number of guards - all of whom had been left on the ship while he alone continued into the palace

He was unarmed and without armour.

He stepped into the Sith Imperial Palace with nothing but the suit on his back and the convictions in his heart and he felt no fear... until he began to approach the throne room of Empress Andraste herself. Her guards had followed him closely and that hadn't bothered him (it was a good idea to keep potential enemies in sight) and yet looking at those large double doors?

They terrified him more than the two Sith who had been following him.

It was with only a moment's hesitation that he opened the doors however, stepping into the throne room and acknowledging the same guards closing the door behind him. Andraste had little to fear from him after all.

Approaching the throne, Vincent bowed his head in respect to the Empress of the largest Empire in the Galaxy.

"Empress Andraste - a pleasure to meet you in person." he greeted her cordially, "I felt it proper to extend my congratulations on the birth of your daughter in person and present a gift for the Princess in celebration of her birth."

The gift was a rather large collection of children's clothes from the finest designers in the Core Worlds, suitable for newborns up to children of around the age of six. He, personally, didn't think Andraste would care about the gift but it was something that had to be observed if his cover reason for visiting in person was to hold up to the general public and the senate as a whole.

The real reason?

Well, she likely already had an idea but he would be happy to clarify for her.

@Sreeya

 

[Andraste]

Andraste was more than a little surprised that the Chancellor was willing to come visit her. She was a little suspicious, but she knew the Chancellor wasn’t stupid enough to try and pull anything. Andraste ensured he was thoroughly searched and scanned before he entered. She was waiting on her throne where she often held her council meetings. On the way there, the Chancellor would have been given a small tour of her over the top luxurious dwelling. The palace was ornate, the walls lined with paintings and marble statues paving the path he would take to get to her.

By the time he arrived, she was sitting on the throne with an expression of mild amusement on her face, her chin resting on her hand. As he entered and spoke, she looked up with interest, glancing over at the gifts. Now this was even more of a surprise, and she could tell right away they were things for her child. Andraste couldn’t help but allow a smile to grace her lips as an aide took the gifts so they could begin their meeting.

“You are quite brave for coming to see me in person,” Andraste spoke frankly, “And I thank you for the gifts. It speaks highly of your character to think of my daughter,” She rose from her seat. To his amusement, the Chancellor would notice this hardly resulted in a height difference. She was amusingly tiny by him, giving off the appearance of a very small and frail woman. And yet, she carried herself with confidence and authority.

“Let’s go somewhere less imposing,” She waved off the guards that had accompanied him, leading him back out the doors. She walked towards a courtyard just outside that had a pool surrounded by ornate plants and flowers. There was a fountain in the middle and cushy seats for them to sit on. Andraste took a seat, gesturing for the Chancellor to sit across from her.

Within moments, a stunning twi’lek woman came by to offer them wine on a silver tray. Andraste took one for herself before leaning back in her seat, her yellow eyes observing the man quietly, “So, what can I do for you, Chancellor?”

@Nefieslab

 

[Vincent Deryck]

Brave was one word for it.

The chief of his security detail would rather use different words - "fool" was the lightest of them by far.

But he knew that he needed to do this, that he needed to speak to her face to face. If he couldn't summon the courage to do that then he had no business being the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. Especially considering they hadn't actually gotten to the part of the meeting he held some genuine fear over. Instead they were still on the opening.

Still on the safe topics.

"Children are a bright spark in life and their arrival is always a happy occasion." he remarked with a small smile, noting how small she was and trying to avoid slouching slightly to help him keep looking her in the eyes. He knew that she would take poorly to that, "And you have started a trend - Lyanna is now the hottest baby name in the Republic."

Following her, Vincent tried not to let her exterior fool him.

It was... difficult however.

She honestly looked like she could be his granddaughter and could do with a few big meals. He tried not to react or think on those stray thoughts however - who knew what she could pull from his mind after all. Thankful that they were in a more private setting, he sat down and gratefully took the offered wine. He sipped it lightly before setting it down for now.

Time to be upfront.

Vincent was, perhaps, a bad politician because he wasn't going to lead her along or let her come to her own conclusions - he was just going to straight up tell her.

"I would like to take the relationship between the Republic and the Sith Empire further than it is currently." he told her, looking her in the eyes, "I would like to formally request the military assistance of the Sith Empire in the Republic's efforts against the Hutt Cartel."

He wasn't going to get any marks for political skill, no, but the truth had a power all it's own.

Or he was about to find out what Force lightning felt like - he was prepared for either outcome, though he naturally preferred the one that wouldn't result in him writhing around in pain.

@Sreeya

 

[Andraste]

He got right to the point, a trait she appreciated. Andraste calmly drank from her wine as he finished speaking, letting silence hang between them. She gazed at him for a long time, but a million thoughts went through her head. She had a faint smile on her lips, thinking back to her history with the Republic. She thought about when she all but pleaded with his predecessor to be given a chance to prove herself. Andraste had been a nobody back then, barely pulling together the scattered Exile warlords. She had gone to great lengths to help the soldiers on Balmorra. And now, a few years later, the Chancellor was here in her grand palace asking for her help. It felt surreal.

Andraste twirled her wineglass for a moment, letting the crimson liquid dance around. She thought about this proposal for a while before answering, “To what degree? Are you proposing a formal alliance?” She took a sip from her wine, “There are many senators that favor working with the Jedi and plenty of GAR soldiers that still rub shoulders with them. If it gets public that the Sith and Republic are working together, I highly doubt you will be able to stay in power. Have you considered the aftermath of your proposal?”

Surely he had. The general public still had a paranoid view of the Sith, and she couldn’t blame them. The exiles in the past had done a tremendous amount of damage and it wasn’t something people were going to forget easily. Andraste took another drink from her wine, “Tell me, what do I gain from this idea? I was planning a campaign against them to begin with and my goal was to claim the territories they hold. Why would I willingly agree to potentially have to split that? What will you do with the spoils of the war?”

@Nefieslab

 

[Vincent Deryck]

She was going to try and make him sweat by making him wait for her answer. While she might be doing a better job of it than most with her unflinching stare and aura... he had been dealing with this tactic his entire adult life. Dealing with politicians meant that they were forever playing power games with you during conversation and you learned the ways to avoid being played. Some of them clearly wouldn't work here.

So instead he just did something he had done in the past - he took his drink and he enjoyed the taste, simply not letting himself be effected by the wait. He smiled a little bit as she finally spoke.

"A formal alliance with a set goal in mind - set to expire and return to our current arrangement after that goal has been reached." he admitted before taking a sip of his own wine before setting it down, "Empress Andraste... ruler to ruler... we both know that sometimes, to do what is best for the people, you need to make the decision for them. When their pride and their stubbornness will see them worse off, it is the responsibility of the ruler to find a way around it. To forge a better way."

He paused for a second before admitting,

"I know that they will likely hate me for this. I shall lose my position, my reputation and my family and I shall be shamed for generations to come. It would be easy to just bow to their fears..." he admitted, looking her in the eyes, "But I didn't become Supreme Chancellor to make easy decisions. When I took office I accepted the hard decisions as mine alone to make."

Sipping his wine, he leaned back slightly.

"Ideally?" he raised an eyebrow, "The Republic's borders shall remain largely the same. Alderaan shall be freed of all Cartel influence. Randon shall become a Republic world, with a military garrison to defend it against the pirates that will doubtlessly crop up during the aftermath of this war. As for the Empire? Claim their territories, their people and their riches - and, should you desire it, we can begin the process of trading more heavily with those sectors and your own. To see if the Republic and the Sith Empire can become economic partners moving forward."

@Sreeya